World War Z

World War Z, the film adaptation of Max Brooks' hit novel, was fighting an uphill battle from the start. The fractured structure of the book doesn't particularly lend itself well to a film version, and once filming finally did get underway, it was plagued with very public production troubles, massive reshoots, and third act rewrites. Most who were following the production's issues were expecting a disaster on the scale of the events in the movie itself, but World War Z somehow managed to stumble through that hellish gauntlet and emerge as a solid piece of summer entertainment.

World War Z
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, Fana Mokoena

Man of Steel

Man of Steel has long been my most anticipated movie of the summer. Though director Zack Snyder seems to be on shaky ground in the critical community following 2011's Sucker Punch, I'm a fan of his work and was especially excited to see him take on a project of this magnitude while working alongside producer Christopher Nolan. As the casting came together, it looked more and more as if this film would finally be the Superman movie fans have been waiting for. I had insanely high expectations, and in short, this movie lived up to all of them. Man of Steel is now officially the blockbuster to beat in 2013.

Man of Steel
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Henry Cavill, Michael Shannon, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe

NJNM After Midnight!

This is The End

Vulgar, filthy, and laugh-out-loud funny, This is The End proves that writing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are actually pretty solid directors, too. The duo - who became major players in Hollywood with the success of Superbad - wrote this post-apocalyptic comedy as a full length adaptation of a short film they worked on years ago, and they chose this project as their co-directorial debut. Featuring a motley crew of comedic all stars and some impressive creature effects, This is The End imagines the end of the world as seen through the eyes of some of Hollywood's biggest actors and culminates in one of the funniest moments I've seen on film in years.

This is The End
Writer/Directors: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride